Narses

Narses (478-573) was a Romanized Armenian eunuch and general in the service of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian I. Along with Belisarius, he was one of Justinian's best generals, brilliantly fighting against raiding Huns and Slavs in Thrace and against the Ostrogoths, Franks, and Alemanni in Italy.

Biography
Born in Armenia, Narses was a court eunuch in the Byzantine imperial palace in Constantinople. In 532, when riots threatened Emperor Justinian, he was commander of the imperial guard, but this was a court rather than a military appointment. In 538, Narses was chosen to lead an army to reinforce Belisarius fighting the Ostrogoths in Italy. He had no military experience, but the aging eunuch was intended to control Belisariius, whom Justinian distrusted, rather than to win battles.

Yet Narses was to turn into an outstanding battlefield leader. His first visit to Italy was short, his constant disagreements with Belisarius too disruptive of military operations. But in the 540s, he was given a real command, in charge of an army of Heruli - Germanic troops - whom he soon led to an important victory over raiding Slavs and Huns in Thrace.

In 552, Narses led another army to Italy to fight the Ostrogoths once more. Unlike Belisarius, he was given plenty of troops. Though a shriveled 74-year-old, he provided them with inspiration and organization. At Taginae he defeated the Ostrogoth leader Totila, retook Rome, and finally crushed the Gothic army at a second battle in the foothills of Vesuvius. Narses had regained Italy in a single lightning campaign. In 554, he won another great victory, defeating the Franks and Alemanni tribes at Volturnus. He was still defending Italy against Goths and Franks in 562, when old age ended his unlikely military career.